Unsanctified
by Ozy the Talking Haystack
Summary: This is the tale of, among other things: a thief, a girl, a mysterious city, the plight of a group of refugees, a child-king and 9 familiar ragdolls. Note: Written 7 months before the movie came out, so innacuracies are everywhere. Rated T for violence.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. __**Ecclesiastes 6:4**_

It should have been dark when my life ended, but it wasn't. It ended in a flash of blinding light, and then the darkness. I didn't know how it happened until later, not until I had walked through the valley of the shadow of Death and feared no evil.

I was dead for approximately 22 minutes. I cannot say what it is like beyond the veil of light; only that you have to discover it for yourself. I won't spoil the surprise for you. Oh no, don't look at me like that; I'm doing you a favor.

You do not know who I am, but I consider that fair as I don't know who you are, whoever is reading this. I only write to tell you what happened to me, and how I came to be dead and then alive again, and to share with you the fates of my comrades, the collapse of an empire built on lies and deception and the warning that I must tell the world, must tell you. You hold the key to saving life itself. They way to do this is to read this, understand it, and, above all, don't make the same mistakes we did.

Listen now, as we tell you a story…


	2. Chapter One

VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: For some reason this VIAN is not showing up in the Prologue edits like it was supposed to, so I'll put it here instead. I originally started writing this story Mar.28/09, seven months before the movie was released to theatres. It was an alternate storyline, so I could take a few liberties, but once the movie came out some of the characters (most notably 1, 2, and 6, although I managed not to mess up the others too badly) became notably very OOC, so I apologize in advance for this. The original thread on the 9 forum has died, but I have decided to repost the original fanfic onto , unedited, as a present for an old friend of mine who loved the fic.

In any case it is one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) multi-chaptered '9' fanfics written (although it pales in comparison to Finaladventure's _Soul Seekers _or YoyoBionicle's _Bleak, But Hopeful, _among others. If you want the links to these amazing fics, PM me). If there are any errors, they were made before the clip of the Seamstress scene in _9 _was first released to the public, so forgive me.

To avoid confusion, each chapter will be in first person POV with a different person telling toe story every time. I will place ample enough clues throught the chapter so you can guess who the speaker is.

Dedicated to all the amazing members of the 9 Forum, but especially Yoyobionicle. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 1

_A gentleman is simply a patient wolf_. – Lana Turner

So okay, where did all of this begin anyway?

I guess if you really want to get technical, you could say that it all started with human wars, Dr. Schmidt and the race to keep life on Earth (I.E our creation), but that's only the background to everything that happened. It all really started when we met the crap-eating-scumballs-who-must-not-be-named. The stinking rats that saw me as nothing more than a hunk of raw strength, free to be taken. It was because of them that we almost got ki—

You know what? I'm getting ahead of myself. This is hard. I'm a fighter, you see, not a writer. It's only because they asked me to do this that I'm sitting here on a cat's back writing this. Yes, I'm not kidding. A cat. Not a cat-skull. A real living, honest-to-goodness cat. I haven't even gotten to the really weird stuff yet.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the scum of the earth that will meet the end of my sword if I ever see them again. We first met them out on patrol, the 'we' being Two, Seven and I. It was just an ordinary day. We had spotted spider-limbs earlier that morning, but fortunately it had not seen us. We were on our way back to the cathedral (that and the library were the two safest places for us), when we suddenly heard a scuttling sound to the right. As you can imagine, we booted it to the nearest hiding place, just in case. We had just started to really fight against the metallic hunters thanks to 9, our newest recruit (who was in way over his head, I might mention, but he didn't realize this until it was almost too late but that happened later), but we weren't quite ready to face them out in the open yet.

There was a moment of silence after we scrambled behind a disintegrating wall. You could see a small puff of dust where something was moving several feet away from the other side of the wall. I slowly reached back, prepared to grab my throwing blade in a split second. Seven gripped her spear tightly, her knuckles softly grinding against each other. Two, who had no proper weapon yet, (which may account for all of his cruddy luck in my opinion) stepped behind us, preparing to either fight or run. We steeled ourselves, but in no way were prepared for what happened next.

Out of the dust slipped two small figures. Seven nearly dropped her spear, and my jaw just about hit the ground in surprise. The two figures were ragdolls like us.

One was small and rather spindly, with what looked like a nervous tic in his right eye. He was cradling his left arm, muttering several horrible curses under his breath. There were several long, rather fresh gashes down the arm. He looked like he was made out of smooth brown leather. Around his waist was a belt that contained several sharp nails that I presumed he used as weapons.

The other was tall, and also rather thin, but not quite as skeleton-like as his companion. He sported a mark on his upper right arm that looked like a human skull and a strange leer. One foot was larger than the other, but other than that he looked almost normal. His skin consisted of pale canvas. He had no weapons to speak of, making me wonder why he had not received an injury.

There was a breath of wind beside me, and before I could stop her Seven had jumped out from behind the wall, her helmet down, her spear at the ready. The two figures yelped, and the twiggy one drew a nail out of its belt.

"Who are you?" Seven demanded.

"Hang on Babur, its one of our own." The taller one said. I was racing towards Seven in case the strangers tried to attack her when something in his words (the voice assured that it was a he) caused me to stop in my tracks. 'Babur' wasn't a number. I took a close look at them and froze, realizing that they had no numbers on them whatsoever. My mind struggled to comprehend this as the scene before me dramatically unfolded.

"Oh, thank goodness!" The one named Babur said, sounding somewhat overdramatic. "I thought you were one of the beasts!"

Two stepped forward, having followed close behind me. "Hello, I am assuming that you are new recruits?" He said smoothly, holding out his hand to shake. "I am Two. You are Babur, correct?"

"Err, yes. Babur 249."

Seven's eye ridges rose at that. "249?" She said. Where's your number?"

"Oh, well, you see…" the one named Babur babbled.

"We're not from around here." The larger one cut him off. "Where we are from, we have the numbers, but we also take another name, a human name. It's a rather long story. My name is Ivan. Ivan 472." He shook Two's hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Forgive me, but I am not quite sure what you mean by recruit."

"I'll probably have a chance to explain everything to you a little later. Would you like to come with us? We can take care of your friend's wounds back in the cathedral."

"Are you sure? I mean, we wouldn't want to be a burden to you…" Ivan said.

"Oh, it wouldn't be any trouble at all. The others will be pleased to know that we have others of our kind out there."

I shot a quick glance at Two. Was he insane? We knew nothing about these ragdolls. They could be…well, I didn't know, but they could have been spies or traitors. Then again, Babur was hurt. We couldn't abandon an injured ragdoll. Three and Four would have had our heads.

If Seven felt confused like I did, she didn't say anything. Instead, she walked over to where I was standing and stood there, looking menacing with her helmet shielding her face.

"Wait, there are more of you?" Babur asked. Ivan shot him a scathing look.

"Um, yes. You'll be able to meet them if you come with us." Two said.

Then again, if there was a wasp in the room, it would probably be best to know where it was so you didn't get stung. I started to see what Two was doing, and had to agree with it, though it made me uneasy.

Ivan and Babur talked to each other in low voices for several minutes, and then Ivan glanced up and nodded.

"Very well gentlemen, follow me." Two said.

As we started our return journey with our new 'companions', I saw Ivan give me an approving glance. I looked away, rather uncomfortable. Why was he grinning like that? To avoid his eyes, I slowed down and fell in behind him next to Babur, but he was giving me the exact same look, only with no smile as he cradled his arm. What was with these ragdolls?

"So, what's your name?"

I showed him my shoulder. He chuckled to himself. "I should have known. Not meaning to be rude, but are you a mute?"

"I speak only when it is worth speaking." I said simply. That seemed to shut him up.

Because he wouldn't stop giving me sideways glances, I moved next to Seven and watched their backs as they trudged ahead with Two, occasionally making a comment on a landmark. For some reason I had a horrible urge to take out my sword and run them both through.

It wasn't until much later that I realized that I should have done just that.

Ow, my hands are sore. Someone else's turn.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2

_Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we first practice to deceive._

– Sir Walter Scott

I should have suspected it. I should have suspected it the moment I first laid my eyes on them. It was so obvious! The nervous glances, the shifty smiles, the looks that the two devils gave us. They were measuring how much we would be worth, and I was completely blind to it. We all were. Oh, how foolish of us, how naïve! It is because of this blindness that we're here right now, with one of our own hovering between life and death. If I had seen it, I could have, nay, would have stopped it. I was able, I had the authority, yet I couldn't tell what was happening right in front of me.

I first saw the two thugs when Two, Seven and Eight brought them back to the cathedral. Their names were Babur and Ivan. They preferred to be called by these strange names rather then their numbers. Two brought them to me. They were polite, and treated me with an air of respect that they didn't seem to give to the others (it wasn't until later that I found out why). After formal introductions Two left with the one called Babur, who looked to be a nervous type of doll who would jump at his own shadow, something like Six, only several times worse. Having felt like this myself at times, I pitied him. I laugh now when I think of it, but at the time I actually pitied him.

Ivan asked to speak for a while with me shortly after Two and Babur left. I consented, being curious as to where they came from.

Ivan looked up to where I was sitting, and then began speaking.

"As you've probably already guessed, we aren't from around here."

I chuckled. "That's a bit of an understatement."

"We're from an island quite a ways from here. There used to be others like us living on the island, but…" He looked away solemnly. "The hunters wiped us out in one fell swoop. Babur and I are the only ones left."

I closed my eyes and lowered my head for a moment, as a sign of sorrow. "I am deeply sorry to hear of your loss."

"Thank you." Ivan said, also lowering his head for a moment. "After the attacks we could no longer stay there for it was becoming too dangerous and too…painful. We left and have been wandering ever since. We didn't see any other ragdolls until we met your friends." We were silent for a moment.

"I have a question for you, if you do not mind answering it." I said.

"Go ahead."

"When your island was attacked and...had fallen, were the hunters attacking randomly?"

"No. Babur and I have reason to believe that it was a planned attack."

A soft breeze whistled through the cathedral. I shivered slightly. "This unnerves me. You and I will have to discuss this further, but not now. Now is the time for resting, and for healing for your friend. You can tell me the details tomorrow."

Important lesson learned: Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

* * *

It was that night when they moved. I awoke to somebody shaking me.

"Get up!" Six hissed. "For the love of God, get up! We've been betrayed!"

I was on my feet instantly. I could hear the sound of shouting and running footsteps in the distance. "Are we under attack?"

"No! I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's worse!"

"What? Has someone d-"

"No, but I'm afraid something like that might happen. Let's go!"

I grabbed my weapons and ran next to Six. As he ran, I could see the terror in his eyes.

"What happened?" I gasped out as we ran.

"It's those two 'new recruits'. They've got Eight."

"What?" I yelped. "What do you mean, 'They've got Eight'?" Eight was, and still is, my most trustworthy soldier and friend.

"They got him. I don't know how, but I guess they managed to get him alone somewhere. I didn't even know about it until Seven ran through the barracks, screaming for help, that they were taking her brother."

"Taking?" I felt sick. "How?"

"I don't know. She was crying out about chains…"

I felt my stomach clench, and I gagged as I suddenly realized how dense I had been, how blind, how stupid. I should have seen them for what they were immediately, but I had not known. Now this ignorance was going to be my folly.

"What's wrong?" Six cried, as he stumbled for a moment. "Do you know what they are?"

"Yes," I said, feeling sudden anger rising within me. "I do. Are the others awake?"

"Right now it's just Nine and Seven fully awake. They are in pursuit as we speak. The others are confused and do not know what is happening. I came straight to get you."

"Thank you." Before he could say a word, I had jumped down from where I was running and was cutting through the sleeping area.

"Awake! Thieves and liars are among us! They are attacking one of our own! Awake, fighters, awake to save your brother, awake, awake!"

The result was instantaneous. Three, Four and Five were on their feet in seconds, Five slinging on his pack of weapons, Three and Four grabbing whatever weapon was nearest to them.

"Where shall we go?" Five called out.

"Be ready to fight! Follow me! Six, take us there!"

Six grinned. He always loved it when I got like this. "Aye aye!" He said, catching up and falling in step beside me. With that, we were off. I only hoped that we were not too late.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter 3

_Awake! Awake! Fear, Fire, Foes! Awake! Fire, Foes! Awake_! –The Lord of the Rings

I can't forget. No matter how much I try, I can't forget.

He's in my arms. One said he would live. I don't know if I should believe him. He woke up only long enough to tell us what we had to do. Nobody would deny him what he asked, which is

why I'm sitting here now, with pen in hand, his head resting on my knees, and my heart in my mouth. How did this happen?

* * *

I remember the day we received the two new recruits from an island quite a ways from here, or so they said. Babur and Ivan. That's where the trouble started.

I woke up that night, unable to sleep. A silent warning. Eight and Ivan were on patrol that night; Ivan requested it. He said that was the least he could do to repay us for patching up Babur's arm. Eight agreed to this, but he seemed rather uneasy when he left.

I turned over. There was something amiss. I sat up, blinked once or twice. That's when I realized what and who was missing.

"Babur?" I said sleepily, wondering if he was nearby. His bunk was empty.

"Meh, probably just gone to take a breather." I murmured. I was about to lie down and go back to sleep, but something wouldn't let me relax. Something was telling me to get up and check. He was new to these parts, after all.

I swore under my breath and got up. Foolishly, I did not grab my spear or helmet as I walked out of the room.

"Babur?" I called out, sleep clogging my throat. There wasn't a sound. I woke up a bit more. "Babur?"

I started to walk towards one of the entrances of the cathedral, making sure to stay hidden in the shadows. It was just me alone there. From above me, I could see one of the unbroken stain glass windows depicting a simple shepherd holding a lamb throw a warped version of the moonlight onto the dirty, cracked tiled floor. The shepherd wore a long cloak and carried a staff. His garb always reminded me of One, only without One's hat.

From far outside I could hear a sharp, strangled cry and a strange harsh jangling. I sucked in my breath and listened hard, but heard nothing but the jangling, coming closer.

Wait a minute. Closer?

I leapt outside and started running, keeping as close to the piles of scrap as I could, for they could serve as a hiding spot in a pinch. I glanced up and nearly gasped, for the blimps were out with their searchlights again. Swiftly I ducked under a pot lid as a spotlight slid over the trash. Once it had past, I slid out silently and started running again. I could still hear the jangling nearby.

Just when I was about to wonder if I was being led into a trap, I turned a corner and saw them. I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming and ducked down to hide.

There was Eight on the ground. I did not know if he was dead or alive. There were thick black chains wrapped around his arms and chest, chains that softly trailed back to their owner, Ivan. He was standing there with his chest open, and the ends of the chains disappeared inside. Babur was nearby, gloating over Eight's weapons.

"Oh yes, these will bring an excellent price on the market. I suspect at least 200 monedes for the thinner blade, and 500 for the larger one." He crowed. "Ivan, we have it made!"

"Oh please, the real cash prize is right here." Ivan said, nudging the limp body of Eight with his foot. "I'm guessing that we'll get 2000 monedes at a minimum. What a gorgeous piece of work."

I recoiled as I realized with horror what they were doing, and my blood began to boil. I wish I had brought my spear, for I would have run both of them through in an instant. They were not new recruits at all!

At that moment, disaster struck. A spotlight blimp sailed overhead and the light raced towards where they were and where I was hiding. Instinctually, I ducked under a pile of scrap, but my foot slipped on a crushed soda can and caused it to go clattering out from under the pile.

"What the-" Babur said, spinning around.

"We've been followed! Babur, you idiot, didn't you check for unwanted tagalongs when you left?" Ivan snarled. The light settled upon him, yet strangely he didn't seem the least bit frightened. "It's the little witch!" He yelled. He had seen me.

I ran then. I was barely able to avoid being run through with a nail thrown like a javelin. It punched through a piece of cardboard and stayed there. I ignored it and ran like I had wings on my feet. The only way to save Eight would be to get the others. I could not do this on my own.

From where I left I heard a howl of "_Glupost_! Bring it down!"

I streaked into the sanctuary and let loose with a shriek. "Help! Help! They have him! They have my brother! They're taking him!"

Nine was the first to meet me. He grabbed my arms and said, "What's going on? Who's got your brother?"

"Babur and Ivan! Those sons of-"

"What!" Nine roared incredulously.

"They have him in chains. I don't know if he's alive, or…" I let out an angry shuddering sob. "Don't just stand there, you idiot!" I screamed.

Nine released my arms then and started running. "Which direction?" he howled over his shoulder.

"The shepherd's entrance! Keep going straight! A spotlight blimp's spotted them, you'll know by the light!" I yelled as I raced inside the sleeping barracks. There I met a frightened Six, clutching his key so hard I thought he was going to choke himself with it.

"What the dickens is going on?" He cried.

"Wake up the others quick!" I said hastily as I grabbed my spear and slammed my helmet visor down. "They have Eight!"

"What?" Before he could say anything else I was gone, skimming over the ground.

I was almost back at the place when I saw, to my horror, the spotlight blimp slowly taking off. I saw that in the large gondola of the blimp there was a large entrance. There Ivan was standing, hanging on to something at the side of the entrance to keep his footing. Below him, I could see Eight hanging in midair, softly swinging as they rose higher, higher, higher. The spotlight shone down on him as if mocking us by putting him on display. A scream of desperation rose in my throat. "No!"

Far ahead of me I saw Nine. He was running below Eight, trying to keep up. Now he was swiftly scrambling up a pile of junk and was eye level with Eight. Now he was almost there, but the pile was running out of space. Now he was jumping off the edge, about to grab onto Eight's foot with one desperate flying leap…

Time seemed to stand still. The both seemed to be hovering in midair, one flying and one swinging from a pair of black chains. Nine reached out, brushed Eight's foot…and grabbed on. Ivan lurched forward, whatever he was hanging on to the only thing keeping him from tumbling out into thin air.

"Yes! Come on Nine!" I cried to nobody but myself.

There was movement in the gondola. Suddenly Babur was standing beside Ivan. I saw something glimmer in his hand from the harsh glare radiating from the spotlight, and suddenly Nine was no longer holding on to Eight but falling with a shout through the black air, falling without grace towards the ground strewn with what might as well be daggers, falling, falling.

I screamed. He manages to slow his fall by throwing himself against the smooth edges of some of the pieces of junk, and lands on the ground, hard. He cried out sharply. I could see that his leg was torn open.

"Nine!" I yelled as I skidded to a stop beside him. "Nine!"

"He's…he's…"

"Are you okay?" I asked stupidly. It was the only thing I could think of to say.

"Not really. Eight…Eight is still alive."

I glanced up to the sky and nearly sobbed as I saw that, though I could still see the blimp getting farther and farther away, I could no longer see Eight.

"My brother." I whimpered softly, not caring how I sounded. "My brother…"

* * *

Author's note: The idea of 7 and 8 having a brother/sister relationship was a creation of my own doing before the movie came out, so it isn't very canonical. *sweatdrop* Oh well, it makes for good drama.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter 4

_[He] had passed through the earlier stage of fury and was now in that calm lagoon of rage where the voice is steady, the manner is measured and polite, and only a faint trace of spittle at the corner of the mouth betrays the inner inferno. __-Terry Pratchett, __Eric_

We found a new place to stay today. It looks safe. There are only a few hunters around, and most have difficulty reaching this place. We can't go back to Bastion, and since they now know about the cathedral we can't stay there either, so we've been on the move, looking for a new place to live. I think this might be it. It's a small village nestled between several mountains. The village is abandoned and about a quarter of it is totally destroyed, but most of the rest of the village remains somewhat intact. We're staying in a local church (wow, first the cathedral, now a church) near the centre of town. It's nice here. Two even reported that he saw some birds today. He thought they were sky hunters and hid, but they landed near him and he saw that they were birds! We couldn't believe it. First we find out about the cat (who probably ended up saving our lives, by the way. If it hadn't been for him, we probably would have been captured and executed), then we find out that some species of birds survived! What next, plants?

Maybe we can start over here. Maybe we can find out how to help the dolls we left behind. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

* * *

We got there too late.

We arrived just in time to see Nine fall, and when we finally had caught up to where he and Seven were, the blimp had gone out of our reach. Nine's right leg was torn open. The spotlight blimps were still flying overhead, constantly searching for us. All in all, it was a really bad situation.

One could barely keep it together as the balloon flew away into the night and out of our visual range. He was breathing hard, and his hands formed fists over his staff. We all knew that Eight had been his closest friend. Three put a hand on his shoulder, and One made no move to shrug it off like he normally would have. Two and Six had started chasing after the balloon in vain, and I heard Six crying out "No wait! Don't go! Bring him back!"

Seven, after dry-sobbing for several moments, seemed to have calmed down rather quickly. It was almost eerie how she looked, like she was completely at peace with the fact that she may never see her brother again. Only a slight tick in her right eye betrayed her look of serenity.

She nodded to Three and Four, who instinctively knelt down next to Nine and picked him up, being careful to support his injured leg. Seven turned back to the cathedral.

"Alright everyone," She said quietly. "Let's go home."

I looked at her like she was crazy. Was she going to even try to save her brother? What was wrong with her? Had she hit her head or something?

Nine was also giving her a strange look, yet there was something about the way she stood up and held her spear that told everyone present, including myself, that we had better obey. We started walking, Seven leading the way. One was last, his gaze lingering in the sky where the spotlight blimp had disappeared. As he turned away, I heard him murmur "I'm sorry, my friend." I looked away and pretended not to hear.

Nobody said a single word on the way back to the cathedral. Not one. Each of us was silently grieving. Everyone that is, except for me and Nine. I was not grieving because I was too angry at myself to grieve. Why hadn't I have been faster? Why hadn't I reacted in time? I could have saved Eight if I had only been better, if I had only gotten here in time. Nine was just staring at Seven peculiarly, like he was questioning whether there was something wrong with her.

We suddenly heard the whispering sound of shuffling footsteps nearby. Light ones. We all froze instinctively, all looking in the same direction. Seven tightened her grip on her spear.

Out of the shadowy darkness emerged a short, wiry ragdoll. It was so dark, we couldn't see details, just the outline.

_Babur_, I thought instinctively. Seven shot forward.

"You stole my brother! You stole my brother!" She screamed, wrath in her normally gentle eyes. She lifted her staff up, intending to bring the blade down on him. The figure recoiled with a terrified, high-pitched shriek.

"It's not Babur!" Nine shouted out in alarm. Seven did not hear him, or worse, she heard him but chose to ignore him.

There was a quick movement, and before any of us could blink, there was One, his staff held up to block the shaft of Seven's spear, one knee bent with the force of the blow. His hat had been knocked off, and the blade was several inches from his temple. His pupils were wide, with shock, fear or rage I did not know. When I saw what he had done my jaw just about hit the floor. Though he may have called himself a leader, that was quite literally the last thing I expected from him. It sagged even lower when I saw whose life he had saved.

It was a ragdoll, a little girl, smaller even than Three or Four.

Seven was just standing there, a furious look on her face. The anger quickly melted off as she saw who had blocked her, and her pupils widened. One pressed upwards against the spear shaft and rose to his feet, pushing her back. The spear fell out of her now loose grasp and fell to the floor. Her face was a mask of shock.

"One…I-"

"Haven't we lost enough friends already tonight?" One said in a steely voice, his eyes narrowing.

Seven softly sank to the ground, her eyes growing dull. One grabbed her arm and hoisted her up. "I…" she said, her voice breaking.

"I know." One said gruffly. "I know."

I stepped forward and held my and out to the little girl. She was crouched on the ground, violently trembling with fear. She saw me and lurched away, her pupils widening with fright.

"Please," She said in a terrified voice, "Don't hurt me!"

"It's okay. I won't hurt you. I promise. Seven won't hurt you either. She just thought you were somebody else, somebody who hurt us." I said gently, hoisting her up to her feet. I stepped back and took a good look at her.

She wore what looked like a long-sleeved grey nightgown that came to her knees. The strange garment had black flowering vines pictured all over it. She resembled Six in that she had a bunch of strings of light brown yarn coming from the top of her head. They were long enough to reach her chin, and they covered everything on her head but her face. Two enormous eyes stared at me with a mixture of fear and awe.

"What's your name?" I asked her, squatting down so that I could look at her eye to eye.

"Jenny." She said quietly.


	6. Chapter Five

Author's Note: When I wrote this chapter I didn't know whether the Twins spoke or not, so I just had them writing what they were saying into the log of their journeys. It's in a rough poem format, not a script format, although it kind of looks that way. In any case, enjoy!

_

* * *

_

_Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. _- Aristotle

3: We were there, we were there too

4: We saw the little girl with the dark brown yarn for hair

3: We learned her number; 5218

4: And were amazed, as we

3: Had never seen a number that high before

4: Nine was amazed too

3: But not as amazed as he was with what One did

4: Yes, it was unusual for him

3: He's usually a coward, isn't he?

4: How can you say that?

3: Because it is the truth, sister.

4: Touché.

3: Then again, to get a coward to be brave

4: You should make him angry.

3: Why was he angry?

4: Because he had lost Eight, his best friend and could have prevented it.

3: …

4: What?

3: Nevermind.

4: I saw the look on your face.

3: What look?

4: Like you were a puppy that's just been kicked.

3: I didn't look like that!

4: Yes you did. I know how you are about him…

3: Can we PLEASE get back on topic?

4: Fine then. Seven really surprised me too.

3: Yeah, she did. Who knew she would react that violently?

4: The girl, Jenny

3: was terrified of her.

4: She was terrified of us all.

3: All the way back to the barracks, she stuck close to 5.

4: She never said a word.

3: I can already tell that she's a sweetheart.

4: may she be protected from the machines.

3: we will protect her, no fear of that. One has already started.

4: True. Shall we pass the pen to the next person?

3: Yes.


	7. Chapter Six

_Authors Note: When I wrote this chapter, the 9 fandom knew next to nothing about Two, so I decided to make him a dry, sarcastic character. When the movie came out, he was the direct opposite and I facepalmed multiple times. Needless to say, the characterizations go downhill from here._

_

* * *

_

_I'm going to disappear again_. – Chuck Robb

We ran as fast as we could. I was almost underneath Eight's shadow, cursing myself for leading us all into a trap. Six was right beside me, gasping for breath, eyes wide with panic.

"Don't let us lose him; please don't let us lose him." He prayed, to whom I do not know. I looked up at Eight's still form, just hanging there in the moonlight. It looked dead creepy, like Eight had become the victim of a hanging. We looked around us as we ran, desperate to find something we could use to get higher. There was nothing.

Before we could say another word, Eight was hauled up into the blimp. The blimp shot forward at a much quicker pace, and we couldn't keep up. It disappeared.

I sank to my knees, gasping for breath. "Forgive us Eight…" I heaved. "We failed you." Six bent over, his hands on his knees. His key swung out uselessly in front of him. He let out a shuddering sob. "What are we going to do?" He choked out. "What are we to tell the others? Should we track them?"

"If they were traveling by ground, yes. As it is, they are traveling by air. There's no way we can track flight patterns in this sky."

"Well then, what are we going to do? We can't just leave him like this!"

"I don't know!" I roared, and then clamped my hands over my mouth. Too late. The yell of frustration, grief and pain echoed and reechoed on the walls of junk around us.

We froze for a moment, and then heard a low, metallic growl nearby. Six' eye twitched. "Way to go, genius." He muttered under his breath.

I saw it. For a split second, I saw a glowing red eye staring at me from the darkness. It seemed to stare into my very core. Just as soon as it came, it blinked out.

_Run. _

I gave Six a flying shove as the beast suddenly exploded out from the pile of trash. I turned to run, but I was too late. I felt two cold paws land on me with the force of a battering ram. I fell to the floor and the Catskull swatted at me and sent me halfway across the room. I heard my name being called out as my head crunched against a piece of steel siding. My body fell to the floor. I was stunned.

The Catskull came at me again, swiftly. It pinned me down with one paw and snarled, its jaws only inches from my face. Everything was hazy, and the Catskull's snout seemed to be doubling and tripling and moving around in blurry circles and my chest was really hurting from where it was pressing down on it.

"Nice kitty." I choked out.

I could see a paw, rising higher, higher, higher. It was going to bring it down. I would be cut in two. I closed me eyes. It was all over.

There was a sharp _shing_. The Catskull let out a sonic shriek that deafened me, albeit temporarily. The weight lifted from my chest. I looked up and saw that the paw that would have ended me had been cut in half. Brown oil cascaded down on me, soaking me in it. I turned over and spat it out, gagging.

The Catskull turned away, and there was another _shing._ Another bloodcurdling scream. I heard soft running footsteps, saw Six standing above me with a panicked expression on his face.

"Get up, we have to go!" He yelled. He grabbed my arm and hoisted me up. Pain exploded in my head and chest. Six slipped an arm around my waist and supported me as we half walked, half ran out of there. Behind me I could hear the rough sound of metal slicing against metal. There were no more screams, just the occasional warble. I never thought I would feel sorry for a Catskull.

"Six," I stammered, putting a hand to my forehead to try and dull the pain, "what did you do?"

"It wasn't me." Six said simply. He pointed back. I turned my head and squinted.

The Catskull was dead, having drowned in a pool of its own oil. Standing above it was a figure silhouetted by the moon. The figure held a pair of Dao swords that were softly dripping with the kill. The figure wore a hood, so his face was shadowed. It looked upwards to where the ship had disappeared to, and then rushed off into the darkness.

"Wait here." Six said, grabbing a nearby nail and handing it to me to use as a prop. He ran after the figure, shouting "Wait! We don't even know your name!"

"Thanks a lot." I muttered under my breath.

Six wasn't gone for long. Within a minute he was back, holding something, with a puzzled expression on his face. "I couldn't catch whoever it was, but it dropped this." He said. He held out a leather pouch. From it he drew a small dagger. The blade was plain, though very sharp, but the handle was carved with two circles, the one on top depicting flames, the other below the fire depicting waves. That was the only clue we had to go on.

"So now we have two thieves on the loose in a spotlight blimp, of all things, a missing Eight, and a mysterious warrior who saved our lives but yet refuses to speak with us. Lovely." I winced. "Let's head back. I am in no condition to head out any further."

Six nodded sadly and placed the pouch inside of him, and with that we headed back to the cathedral.

"That oil's making you reek." He commented. "You need a good bath."

"Shut up. It's no fun having Catskull blood spilled all over you. Disgusting."

"That was brutal. I don't think even Seven has used those tactics on an enemy before." Six thought for a moment. "Should we tell the others?"

"Duh." I said sarcastically. "The others are going to _love _this new turn of events."


	8. Chapter Seven

Author's Note: I'm actually considering doing a rewrite of Unsanctified (more like a 2.0 version). Your thoughts? This way I can do some characterization overhaul.

Chapter 7

_What is the answer? In that case, what is the question?_ – Gertrude Stein

All the way back to the cathedral Seven walked beside me, shaken by my words. I knew what had caused her to lash out like that, but the action had still been unsettling, especially since she nearly cleaved my head in two in the process. Would she have reacted the same way if it was Three that was taken? Or Five? Or myself?

Lingering questions kept trundling about in my head, and they wouldn't stop bothering me. Why had I done that? What forced me to risk my own skin like that? What on earth had possessed me? Normally I would have been too stunned to move. I was angry at Babur and Ivan, so why didn't I let Seven kill the Babur look-alike? These weren't the type of questions I could ask anyone else, so I kept them to myself and decided not to answer them then.

The problem with not answering questions is that questions have the tendency to not go away when you want them too. They're still there, poking at the back of your subconscious. Why? Why? Why? It wasn't until much later that I found the answers, when I faced the other ones in Bastion and faced my own flaws…

But now I'm getting ahead of myself. Where was I?

While Seven was on one side, the little girl, Jenny, was on the other. She stuck close to Five, being a little wary of me and very wary of Seven. She hadn't said much, but when she had spoken she had a rather perky voice. I wondered for the fifth time in about an hour where she came from. Did she come with Babur and Ivan? If so, why did they leave her behind? If not, where did she come from?

After a while, nobody saying a word, we finally arrived at the cathedral. I looked over at Jenny and was quite amused to see her peering upwards with her mouth gaping open.

"This is where you guys live?" She said incredulously.

"Yes. Welcome to the cathedral."

Jenny looked at me with wide eyes. "It's almost as big as the palace in Bastion!" She peered at me, suddenly suspicious. "Are you the king of this place?" From behind me, Nine, Three and Four guffawed with laughter. Even Seven cracked a smile.

"I'm sort of a leader, yes, but I am NOT a king." I chuckled to myself.

"You have a crown, a scepter and a cape. Are you sure you're not a king?"

"I'm sure."

"Ok…" Jenny said. She still didn't look certain though.

We went inside, and Three and Four took Nine straight into the infirmary to be repaired.

"Five, wait out here for Six and Two's return. Explain to them what happened and tell them about our new guest. Seven, Jenny, you're with me. I have a few questions for you two."

"Sure, I guess." Jenny said, giving a quick shrug. Seven said nothing.

We headed into the conference room, which was really the main sanctuary of the cathedral. Gargoyles and statues of religious figures untouched by the suffering around them stared down sternly at us. I sat down in a chair that Two made for me a while ago (which I will forever be grateful for, by the way) and cleared my throat. Jenny plopped down on the floor and crossed her legs, looking up at me expectantly. Seven stood to one side, looking rather uncomfortable. As I opened my moth to speak, she suddenly held up her hand.

"Wait." She turned to Jenny. "Look, I'm really sorry that I attacked you. I thought you were…someone else, someone I was really angry at, and I took it out on you because you looked like him at first. Will you forgive me?" Jenny thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded. Seven looked relieved.

"I was just about to mention that, actually. Now that that's over with, I have a few questions for you."

Jenny grinned cheekily. "You said that already."

"That I did, First off, do you know a duo by the names of Babur and Iv-"

"Right I do!" Jenny roared, her cheerful face suddenly contorting in anger. "Right, and I hope I never see them again!"

"Well, that's a surprise. How do you know them? What do they do?" I asked. I kept calm to counteract Jenny's sudden mood swing, remembering that, according to Six, who was and is our resident expert in human customs this was rather commonplace in human children. Apparently the same thing goes for ragdolls.

"For starters, they're slave traders, and that's how I know them. They're from the same place I come from, Bastion, and they travel, using a search balloon as a disguise-"

"You mean a spotlight blimp, right?" Seven said.

"Well, whatever you guys call it…actually, that reminds me. What type of ragdolls are you? Are you nomads?"

"Not exactly, and you can ask all the questions you want in a minute. We just need you to answer a couple of ours because it's important. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I always thought that only the nomads lived outside of Bastion. Anyways, Babur and Ivan rigged a search balloon so they could fly a long ways away from Bastion to look for slaves to capture, mostly nomads."

"So you're saying that Eight is a slave now?" Seven said, turning pale.

"What's an Eight?"

"My brother. He was captured by Babur and Ivan."

"OH!" Jenny exclaimed, her eyes growing wide. "Oh." She murmured, looking away. "I'm sorry. He's not a slave yet, but he will be when they get to Bastion. They'll sell him there."

Seven tensed. She took a deep shuddering breath to calm herself, and then said "My baby brother is going to be sold like cattle?"

"My God…" I whispered. That would be a fate worse than death.

"I'm sorry!" Jenny looked like she was fighting not to cry. "I don't like it either. I have an older brother back at Bastion. You can share him, if you want."

"Is there a way we can rescue him?" I asked, fearing that Seven would go catatonic again.

"Let me think." Jenny shut her eyes for a few minutes. Nobody said anything. Seven looked like she was hovering between sorrow and anger.

"Wait!" Jenny suddenly sat up straight and opened her eyes. "There is a way! My brother 'Lige explained it to me once. There is a process thingamabob that all imports of…cargo have to go through when they get to Bastion. I'm not sure how it works, but I remember that it takes about a week for slaves to go through the process, and another 1-3 days for them to appear at the auction, where they'll be sold."

"Ok, so we have roughly about two weeks. Only problem is, what are we going to do? Storm the auction?" Seven said, her voice almost desperate.

"If you want to do that, you can, but I think it would be easier just to buy your brother back."

We stared at Jenny, shocked. We had never even though about a solution like that before.

"You're brilliant!" I said, jumping up. "What a great idea! All we would have to do is to get to…wait, what was it called?"

"Bastion."

"Yeah, we get to Bastion as soon as possible and either find out where Eight is and free him or, as a last resort, buy him. The only problem is, where will we get the money?"

"Hmm…" Jenny cupped her hands to her face and propped her elbows on her knees. She remained like this for several minutes, occasionally glancing up at Seven, then at me. Suddenly she sat up and laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" Seven asked, confused.

"You guys are blind!" Jenny explained, and then doubled over as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

"What?" I said, trying to keep a stern expression on my face, although the corners of my lips were violently trembling, trying to turn upwards. Her laughter was catching.

"This!" Before we could say a word Jenny ran up to me and poked my hat. "It's a Euro!" She exclaimed happily. "In Bastion you could buy three slaves with this! Getting your friend back will be easy, assuming we can get to Bastion in time." She smiled, her eyes shining.

I took off the hat and looked at the coin, feeling shocked and a little foolish. I had a bit of an idea how much the coin was worth (in human terms, relatively little), but I had no idea that it could actually be used as currency in today's standards!

"I wonder, did Babur and Ivan know?" I mused. Jenny almost started laughing again.

"Probably not. Babur and Ivan are dummies as well as brutes. I bet you they've never seen a euro in their lives."

"How do you them?" I asked, glancing up from the hat in my hands.

"They took me." Jenny's face turned sour, and no matter how we prodded her, she would say no more on that subject.

"So how many potential slaves do they have now?" Seven asked.

"With your friend it's ten which is their maximum capacity. They'll probably be heading back."

"Alright, so I have one other question." I said. "What is Bastion? Is it a city?"

"Yep! It's a big city of ragdolls!" Jenny said, "The biggest in the whole wide world! That's what Aunt Emily said, anyway."

"Where is it?"

"Um…in the ruins of the human city, Paris."

"I believe that is to the south of us then." I said. "Excellent."

"So what's the game plan?" Seven asked. "Are we going to rescue my brother?"

"Yes. We will not leave him to be sold like a common animal." I put my hat back on my head with a decisive tug. "Alert the others to get ready for the journey."

Seven turned on her heels and ran out of the room like a banshee was after her. Jenny tilted her head. "Can I ask my questions now?"

"Yes, you may." I leaned back and sighed. "It looks like we'll be heading to Bastion."


	9. Chapter Eight

Author Notes: Though somewhat out-of-character, this was actually my favorite chapter to write.

Chapter 8

_On a wing and a prayer._ – Author Unknown

The cathedral towered before us in the light of the rising sun. The rays of murky light splashed through the stained glass windows, casting warped shapes onto the ground in every spectrum imaginable. Many times I have tried to gather those colours to myself, letting the dust sift through my fingers, keeping care not to get the grains stuck on my fingertips, as it can be very uncomfortable. I wanted to capture them, show the others the shocking beauty of the _Aurora Borealis_ that strokes me feet and legs. In this world where you can be killed at any moment, the others desperately seek an escape. My escape is in images, lines and rich colours, in the thousands of hues that make up an ordinary day in this world. They are my true friends, the ones who keep me sane. Needless to say, I escape the hardships of this world as often as I possibly can.

A sudden jerk on my arm awoke me from my reveries. I looked up and saw Five in front of me. "Two, what the heck happened to you?" He said as he surveyed the battered Two. The younger doll said something else, with the last words being "We're leaving." The two words seemed to float off of him, but as soon as they left his lips they land at my feet, a bungling pair. _We're leaving._

"Pardon?" I say, trying to hide the shock in my voice.

"We're leaving to get Eight back. One is being competent for once and he, Seven and our new 'guest' have devised a way to find him and bring him back."

"We're leaving the cathedral?" I asked. We had only left our home for a trip once before, and that had almost ended in disaster.

Five gave me a friendly clout on the back of the head. "Weren't you listening for the last two minutes? Apparently the others found someone that the idiot duo left behind. She's only a little thing, and her name's Jenny. Seven nearly killed her at first, but that's a bit of a long story so I won't get into that now. In any case, we're heading out to a ragdoll city called Bastion-"

"What?" Two and I exclaimed at the same time. "A ragdoll city?"

"Yes. Gentlemen, if you will hold your disbelief for a moment and shut your jaws so that you don't look like brainless morons I will be able to tell you all that happened since you two went gallivanting after Eight." Five said. Clearly he was enjoying this.

"Could you tell us all of this in the infirmary? I have a headache…" Two said grumpily.

"Oh, sure. By the way, One told me to tell you to go see him as soon as you were back at the cathedral." Five recited. "You'll have to hear the whole story from him. He's in the main room." He slipped behind me and took my place as Two's support pole. "Let's go. Oh yes, and Nine can keep you company tonight."

"Man, the burlap bros get no luck whatsoever, do they?" Two said as he was lead down the hall. The last thing I heard from them was Five guffawing.

I scuffed my feet in the dust colored by the light for a moment, basking in the glow, then turned and headed towards the sanctuary door. There is a hole in it at the bottom large enough for me to get through easily. I am very grateful for this, for not even Eight can open these doors. They are too heavy.

There always seems to be a solitary hush whenever I enter the chapel. The air itself seems to steal away your voice. Above me the walls stretch on upwards, like the arms of a drowning person towards its rescuer. The roof caps it all off. The ceiling is plain, but in the four corners of the room winged creatures of stone look down at us with mockery and contempt written on their faces for all eternity. There are stained glass windows in here too, much bigger and more varied in colour. The pews, also, are carved out of stone, with cushions long since reduced to rags. At the far end of the room there is something called a pulpit, made of a sturdy wood. Behind this pulpit is something very large indeed, almost like a tree. It towers high above the pulpit. It's called a cross. Other than these things the room is empty.

You may wonder how I know these things. I'm the keeper of the library. While colours are my first escape, the books are my second escape. Or, to put it more clearly, the words are. The words release your mind. The colours release your soul.

It was with the words that I learned more about the humans. I learned about their customs, I learned about their traditions, I learned how they thought and their view on what was right and wrong. Humans are confusing and yet crystal clear, at times horrible, at times magnificent.

I find their different religions fascinating, especially when I found out that the building we were living in, the cathedral, was actually used for a certain religion called Christianity, or, to be more specific, Catholicism. That's why I always entered the main room silently, with great respect. That's why I knew what all of the places in this building were. That's how I knew not to eat the stale bread wafers and drink the wine that was inside one of the compartments in the pulpit. (Not even One, who out of all of us uses the sanctuary the most, knows this is there). I do not do this for these things are sanctified, holy, and sacred. The others do not care about this, but I do. I know that we were no created by accident, and that we had a creator, Dr. Schmidt. I also knew that someone had created Dr. Schmidt and the humans. Someone had created this world, and I wanted to know Who.

While I was thinking these things, I saw One across from where I was standing, next to one of the pews. Ages ago Two and Eight had created some ragdoll-sized items for our own use, including a table and some chairs. He was sitting at the table, writing some things down with a pen nib. I could see a little girl sitting in the chair beside him, chattering away happily. One was looking slightly annoyed, but other than that, seemed calm.

I cleared my throat. "You wanted to see me?"

One glanced up, and his facial features relaxed into a small smile. "I did. Have a seat." He went back to his paperwork.

"Hi!" The little girl, who I assumed was Jenny, waved at me excitedly. "I'm Jenny. Are you Six?"

"Why, yes." I said, sitting down and pushing my key to one side. I rested my hands on the table and waited patiently. There was silence for a moment, and then Jenny suddenly let out a small gasp.

"Your fingers!" She said, her eyes wide. "They're ink nibs!"

"I'm glad you noticed." I said, beginning to warm up to this little girl.

"I've never seen that before! So do you dance on your hands?"

"What?" I said, confused.

"You know, like the _Ballarins de Tinta_ do."

"Hmm?" One looked upwards.

"The _Ballarins de Tinta_! The Ink Dancers! Don't you know them? They're the most wonderful performers on Earth!"

"Remember Jenny, we aren't from Bastion. We haven't seen any of the sites there yet." One said, making a face as he scratched out a mistake. I glanced at the page and had to bite back a smile. One's writing looked like chicken scratch.

"Um, no, I don't dance on my hands. How do you go about doing that anyway? I'd break my fingers off." I said. Jenny giggled. "What is the _Ballarins de Tinta_ anyway?"

"They're the best performers in the whole world! They have feet kind of like ink nibs, only much bigger, and they dance on a really big piece of paper. When they dance, ink flows out of their feet. They can actually draw with their feet. The best _Ballarins de Tinta _make artwork for the king. I've never seen one with hands like yours though."

I could barely believe it. "Ink nibs for feet! How on earth do they walk?"

"I dunno." Jenny shrugged. "If you ever meet one you should ask them."

"In any case," One said, finishing whatever he was writing with a flourish, "Six, you have quite an understanding of this world and the humans that lived in it, don't you?"

"As the humans would say, 'Well duh, Sherlock.'" I said, slightly annoyed at his idiotic statement. One cracked a smile, and I wondered for a moment whether he meant to be idiotic.

"I am in need of some assistance. There is an atlas in your library, correct?"

"Yes."

"I need you to find out the following: how far is it from here to Paris, the terrain leading from here to Paris, and a rough estimation of how long it will take us to get there on foot."

"Par-" I stopped speaking, a sudden realization dawning on me. "We're going to get Eight back, aren't we?"

"You catch on quickly. The people who captured Eight are slave traders. They will sell him in a ragdoll city called Bastion unless we either get there and stop it or get there and buy him back. We have the means of doing this, and we have a little guide once we get to the city itself." Here he nodded at Jenny. "The only thing that we need now is a way and the means of getting there." He turned to me. "Can you do this?"

"Give me half-an-hour and let me borrow Five. I'll come back with the atlas as well as the information we need."

"Good. Tell the others to get everything that will be needed for this excursion together. Tell them to pack light, for everyone will have a pack to carry. If all goes well, we will leave under cover of darkness."

"Tonight then?"

"Tonight. Six, Jenny, you are dismissed."

As I left, I looked over and saw the black shadow of the cross cast on the floor. The words formed in my head and heart, and I softly whispered to Anyone that would hear me.

"Please, keep us safe. We venture out onto the edge of a knife tonight."


	10. Chapter Nine

Author Notes: This fanfic will be split into four parts, with nine chapters in each part, to represent the nine main characters of the movie. Next up: The Journey to Bastion.

Chapter 9

_God. I always say that name when I think of it. God. Twice, I speak it. I say His name in a futile attempt to understand. _-Death, _The Book Thief_

It was almost time to leave, but I had to do something first. I scribbled down a note, rolled the scrap of paper into a tube, and tied it around the middle with a piece of thin elastic Three found a little while ago. I dropped it on my bed, grabbed my gear, and set out. I knew I only had an hour to get there and back.

For once, everything was quiet. Several times I had to hide from a Catskull, but other than that it was easy going, compared to other times.

Ghosts seemed to walk with me as the lingering dust floated around my legs like fog. Memories. Hundreds of them, all about my brother. My somewhat dense, loyal, crazy, gentle giant of a brother. I could almost hear his heavy footsteps thudding on beside me. He and I always went to the special place together. Always. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd have to go alone.

The sun was slowly starting to sink down when I got to where I wanted to go. It was deadly quiet. Not even the machines would touch this place. Why? Did they still have some mutual respect for what lay here? Was it the flowers that alarmed them? Was it the soft whispers of death that lay over the ground like a blanket?

I climbed up a small hill and stopped. Stretched out in front of me was a literal sea of bright red poppies. They were the only flowers that would grow naturally on this land. The humans once fought a bitter battle there, long ago. They called this place Vimy Ridge, and it is said that there was so much blood spilt that it turned the little white poppies red. Perhaps there is truth to the myth.

Whenever we came here, it was my brother who enjoyed the plants the most. He loved botany, though he'd rather die than admit it. I was the only one who knew how much the little bobbing heads of the flowers meant to him.

I was not interested in the poppies though, as beautiful as they were. No, I was interested in the crosses. There were hundreds of them, all in rows, each one marking a fallen soldier. The only difference in the rows was where there was a star instead of a cross, to show that the soldier was Jewish instead of Christian.

The first time that I came here I cried (or as much as a ragdoll could cry), and cried again when my brother softly chanted a poem under his breath. He later told me that Six had shown him the poem, and that it was written by a soldier that had fought here and had watched his best friend die here. The poem had affected my brother so much that he had actually taken time to memorize it, so he could show it, and this place, to me. After that, every time he came here he softly said the heartbreaking words that seemed to encompass our whole world, and what it had become.

_In Flanders fields, the poppies blow,_

_Between the crosses, row on row_

I no longer cried when I came here. I simply felt great respect for the bravery and courage of the fallen.

_That mark our place, and in the sky_

_The larks, still bravely singing, fly_

_Scarce heard amidst the guns below. _

I ran down the hill and disappeared into the poppies. Around me was a forest of green stems, the ever-present dust, and red bobbing heads, softly nodding as if saying "Good day" or "How do you do?" When I reached the first few crosses I stopped.

_We are the dead. Short days ago,_

_We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,_

_Loved, and were loved, and now we lie_

_In Flanders Fields._

"Soldiers." I whispered, and then dared to raise my voice. "Soldiers! Warriors! Men of old! I am here!"

The air awoke. A breath of wind tickled my arm. The dust stirred, shifted softly. They had heard me. They were here.

"Soldiers, fallen, listen to me! I am one of you. You may not think it of me, but I am one of you. I know that you never left your comrades behind, even though you are now under the earth because of it."

Silence.

"I cannot leave my comrades behind either. My brother has been taken from me, and I must leave on a journey to bring him back."

Silence. I knew that it was foolishness, and that I was only talking to the flowers and the crosses. Somehow though, that didn't matter. The body may have returned to the earth, but the soul was immortal. Maybe they were able to listen.

"Soldiers, I came here to ask you for your blessing, so that we may swiftly return to you." I did not say whether that meant to return to this place or to return to them by joining them under the earth. I only wished to be with them, whatever happened.

At first, silence. Then, the wind picked up and the dust was flung in my face. I shut my eyes for a moment and heard the soft dinging of particles of earth colliding against the glass layer of my eyes. There was almost a sigh in the wind, and then it stopped. I opened my eyes to find myself lightly coated with dust.

"Err, ok, I'll take that as a yes then." I said, bowing at the waist towards the nearest cross. "Thank you." With that, I turned around and started to run back the way I came, the last verse of the poem thundering through my head, my heart and my soul. The last verse was always my favorite.

_Take up our quarrel with the foe:_

_To you from flailing hands we throw_

_The torch; be yours to hold it high._

_If ye break faith with us who die_

_We shall not sleep, though poppies grow_

_In Flanders Fields. _

As I ran, the golden light from the sun slowly died.

It was time to leave.

**END OF PART 1 **


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